Trained in the medical profession, Catullo was appointed in 1811 an instructor of natural history and chemistry at Belluno, followed in 1815 at Verona and in 1822 at Venice. Soon thereafter, he was appointed a professor in the same subjects at the University of Padua. He held membership in the Società Italiana.

Rare. In this high school level textbook, Catullo has provided an introduction to mineralogical science and a detailed classification system with extensive descriptive notes about each species' characteristics (specific gravity, hardness, chemical analysis, varieties, locations of deposits, electrical conductivity, etc.).

Very scarce. After the introduction which contains general explanations of the formation, association, occurrence, alteration, decomposition, and distribution of minerals, the author proposes his own system of mineral classification based on Haüy. Each mineral arranged in the system has expansive notes describing the usual chemical and physical characteristics, localities, and uses in medicine. A table of contents and an index to the mineral species mentioned in the text concludes the work.